Chapter 15
Managing Your Time and Territory
The Value Of Time
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“Time is money”
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Salespeople average 920 hours a year in front of customers
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Salespeople must make every hour count to be successful
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Often a question of how to allocate resources
Think about how much time you have spent on your
university education
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____Hours in class X ____hours studying = ______
The Time Management Matrix
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N
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Urgent
Not Urgent
I
II
Activities:
Prevention, PC activities
Relationship building
Recognizing new opportunities
Planning, recreation
Activities:
Crises
Pressing Problems
Deadline-driven projects
III
Activities:
Interruptions, some calls
Some mail, some reports
Some meetings
Proximate, pressing matters
Popular activities
IV
Activities:
Trivia, busy work
Some mail
Some phone calls
Time wasters
Pleasant activities
The Self-Management Process
The four stages of the self-management process include:
1) Setting goals
2) Allocating resources
3) Implementing The Time Management Strategy
4) Evaluating performance
Setting Goals
The Need For Goals
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Career goals and objectives should reflect personal
ambitions and desires
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Sales goals provide some of the means for reaching
personal objectives
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Guides the decision process
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Increases performance
Goals
The Nature Of Goals
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Goals should be specific and measurable
 Goals should be reachable yet challenging
 Goals should also be time based
Types Of Sales Goals
Performance Goals
 Goals relating to outcomes, such as revenue
 These types of goals should be set first
 Do not always need to be quantifiable
Goals
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Activity Goals
Behavioral objectives that reflect how hard the salesperson
wants to work
All are intermediate goals
Conversion Goals
Measures of a salesperson’s efficiency
They reflect how efficiently the salesperson uses resources,
such as time, to accomplish performance goals
Setting Sales Goals
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Performance and conversion goals are the basis for activity
goals
Allocating Resources
Resources To Be Allocated
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Salespeople consider physical resources as investments because
resources must be managed wisely to generate the best possible
return
A key resource that salespeople manage is time
Where To Allocate Resources
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Often a question of finding the customers or companies that are
most likely to buy and then allocating resources to maximize
the opportunities they offer
Account Classification and
Resource Allocation
ABC Analysis
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Simplest classification scheme that ranks accounts by sales
potential – know the 80/20 rule – see P. 404
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Classification schemes can be used to generate call plans
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Works well with industries that have regular contact with the same
accounts.
Examples: Eli Lilly and SC Johnson Wax
Account Classification
Grid Analysis
Sales call allocation grid- classifies accounts on the basis
of the company’s competitive position with an account
along with the accounts sales potential – Exhibit 15.4-P.405
& Exhibit 15.5-P.406
Account-opportunity- indicates how much the customer
needs/able to buy the product
Strength of position- indicates how strong the salesperson
and company are in selling the account
Sales Call Allocation Grid
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The Grid and Current Customers
Great tool for analyzing current customers
Research has found customer share to be a better resource of
profit than market share
Market Analysis
Evaluation of opportunity within segments in the overall
territory to determine allocation of time and other resources
Using The Computer For Analysis
The new sales automation software products are designed to
lets salespeople determine where an account stands in the
buying cycle
The Grid & Current Customers
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Landmark study:
– Customer share, also called account share, is
the average percentage of business received
from a company’s accounts in a particular
category. Similar term – share of wallet!
– Paper and Plastic Industry study – account
share VERY IMPORTANT, not necessarily
number of accounts!
Investing in Accounts
Sales Technology

Can predict revenue based on purchase
history
 Determines where to invest time in free
sample, trials, training, & displays
Time Management Strategies
Investing In Accounts
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Strategies require the use of several resources
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Salespeople invest in time, free samples or trials, customer
training, displays and other resources in their customers
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Customers generate nearly all of a firm’s revenue
Implementing The Time
Management Strategy
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Time is a limited resource
Daily Activity Planning
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Salespeople must have a good understanding of their own work
habits
Guidelines
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Salespeople must allocate time for prospecting and customer care
Prime selling time- time of day at which a salesperson is most
likely to see a buyer
Prime selling time differs from country to country
Time Management
Planning Process
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Make a to-do list and prioritize your schedule
Estimate the time required for each activity
Develop an effective time schedule
Using The Computer For Planning
Tickler file- file or calendar that salespeople use to
remember when to call specific accounts
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Need For Flexibility
To plan for the unexpected make sales calls prioritized;
adjust your schedule to fit time concerns
Time Management
Making More Calls
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Develop efficient routes and make daily plans
 “Out Tuesday, back Friday complex”
 The sales rep must make full use of all available days to get the
most out of the territory
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Routing – P. 413
Method of planning sales calls in a specific order to minimize
travel time
Routine call patterns- salespeople see the customers regularly
Variable call patterns- when the salesperson must call on
accounts in an irregular order
Time Management
Routing (Contd.)
Four types of routing plans: P. 413
Circular routing
Leapfrog routing
Straight-line routing
Cloverleaf routing
Zoning
Definition: Dividing the territory into zones, based on ease of
travel and concentration of customers, to minimize travel time
 Works best for compact territories or on non-regular sales calls
Time Management
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Using Mail and Telephone
Customers may appreciate a time saving call over a visit
Salespeople can make numerous customer care calls
Handling Paperwork and Reports
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Salespeople should think positively about paperwork
Salespeople should not let paperwork accumulate
Routine reports should be completed daily
Salespeople should set aside a block of nonselling time for
paperwork
Time Management
Using The Computer To Handle Paperwork and Communications
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Make use of a laptop
Can help international selling organizations operate smoothly
by reducing communication barriers
Territory management capabilities
E-mail – no errors & within 24 hours
Evaluating Performance
Postcall Analysis
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Salespeople should take a moment to write down what occurred and
what needs to be done after each call
Activity Analysis
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Salespeople should review their activities in relations to their goals
Performance Analysis
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An earnings goal can be an effective check for overall performance,
and evaluate sales by product type
Productivity Analysis
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Identify which strategies work
Conversion ratio- number of sales per calls; important measure of
effectiveness